The Aftermath
by Atari Classic
Summary: AU. Fluff-fic, starring Fred Weasley and Harry Potter's twin sister Lory. Starts about a month after the Final Battle. Better summary inside.


Disclaimer: I am not J.K. Rowling. Lory is mine, but that's about it.

A/N: This is just a cute little fluff I concocted at work over the past few days. Lory Potter is Harry's twin sister. She stayed with the Weasley twins and worked in their joke shop while the Golden Trio hunted horcruxes. She and Fred have been together for about two years. Fred, obviously, is not dead. This takes place about a month after the Final Battle.

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Lory Potter-Weasley stepped out of the shower, sniffling. She usually took that time to cry these days. She dressed swiftly and pulled her messy black hair up into a loose bun. As she was exiting the bathroom, she all but ran into a tall, redheaded man. George Weasley grinned at the sight of her.

"Lor, just the woman I was looking for. Look, can you get that recipe for Migraine Mints from your bag? I want to do a few last minute modifications."

"George, I really just want to get back to St. Mungo's. Can't you get it yourself?" Lory sighed, trying to push past him. "Healer Morris says Fred may wake up any time now, and I've already been here for the better part of the past twenty-four hours."

"You need to sleep, Lor." George's jovial expression faded into a frown. "And have you eaten yet?"

"You sound like Harry." Lory scowled.

"Well?" George gently grasped Lory's upper arm and steered her towards the stairs. "Come on. Mum's in the kitchen. You're not just doing this for yourself, you know."

Lory's hand went to her abdomen. George was right. She had that little piece of Fred to think about. She sighed and gave in, allowing him to lead her to the Burrow's kitchen. When she arrived in the doorway, she stopped short. There at the table was a man she'd know even from behind. Just to make sure, she turned slightly to look at George: no, he was there. The man at the table was identical to the one behind her, save for one detail: the man at the table had both his ears in place. George, guessing where Lory's eyes were fixated, self consciously put his hand over the spot where his left ear used to be.

"Frederick Gideon Weasley, I've half a mind to hex you back to St. Mungo's!" Lory's voice raised in a screech. The man at the table turned to her with a smile, but she continued, "Have you any idea what I've been going through? Or how frightened I've been? That was the worst day of my life, Fred!"

"I love you too, Lor." Fred started to stand, but Lory stalked over and poked him hard in the chest, forcing him back into his chair.

"No. First, you get yourself knocked unconscious. I thought you were dead! You're lucky Dumbledore charmed the ruddy walls of that sodding castle so that students who were idiotic enough to duel in it wouldn't be killed by being slammed into them. And then, after thinking that you, the man I love more than life itself, had died, Voldemort announces that Harry's dead. And I was devastated. I was alone, Fred. My fiance, and then my twin. Dead." Lory seemed to have run out of steam, and she'd begun to cry. Somewhere in the middle of her rant, she'd paced back to the doorway where most of the family, including Lory's twin brother Harry and his girlfriend Hermione Granger stood watching. "I love you so much."

"I'm not going anywhere again, Lor." Fred whispered.

Lory nodded, wiping a sleeve at her eyes. The movement caused her shirt to pull taut over her belly, and Fred's gaze locked onto it. His massive grin was back in place, and he leapt to his feet. Molly Weasley, matriarch of the clan bit her tongue to keep from scolding him. She certainly understood her son's enthusiasm for being reunited with his girlfriend... wait. Lory had said something else in her rant.

"Excuse me." Molly said, clearly shocking everyone in the room. "Did Lory say 'fiance'?"

"Um. Yes. Well, Molly, you see..." Lory started. "Fred and I got engaged three months ago. We didn't want to make a fuss, and we would've preferred to tell everyone at once..."

"And, since we're confessing..." Fred continued over the congratulatory phrases from the Weasleys, crossing the room to wrap an around Lory's shoulder. "We got married."

"What?" Molly sat down heavily in a chair. "Without the family there?"

"We didn't want to take the chance that we'd die without being married, Molly." Lory said quietly.

The hurt in Molly's eyes softened. She understood that feeling, too. She and Arthur had done the same thing during the first wizarding war, after all. She noticed that her family was filtering into the room and sitting down. Percy, Ron, Bill, and Fleur sat on one side of the large table, while Charlie, Ginny, Hermione, and Harry sat on the other. Harry was still looking at his twin intently, a strange look in his emerald eyes.

"You said you'd told them, Lory." Harry's soft comment was reproachful. "I wouldn't have witnessed it without Molly there if I'd known."

"Yes you would've." Lory snapped, blushing. "You would've done it because you're my twin, and you love me. Besides, I said I was going to tell them."

"And I can't believe none of you told me earlier." Fred chided his family. "If I'd known I was going to be a dad, I would've woken up much sooner."

There was absolute silence in the room. George, still standing behind the couple, chuckled. Harry glared daggers at Fred, while Molly's mouth just hung open. Actually, Lory noted, everyone's mouths were hanging open. She blushed deeper. She hadn't told anyone, save George, largely because she wanted to tell Fred first.

"What, you mean you couldn't tell?" Fred asked, ignoring the flabbergasted expressions. "It's so obvious."

"Fred, I'm only two months along. I'm not showing yet." Lory whispered.

"I could tell straight aways." Fred shrugged, then brought his mouth closer to her ear. "But then, I know your body better than anyone."

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In the aftermath of Fred's return and the confessions that filled with Weasley house with gossip for weeks, Lory and Fred moved into their own flat in Diagon Alley. It wasn't far from the joke shop where they both worked, which suited both of them just fine. Lory was regulated to register duty once Fred found out she was pregnant while he took over in the back brewing the potions they sold. George and Verity, the saleswitch they'd hired, took care of making sure the shelves were stocked.

One afternoon Fred arrived at the Burrow, expecting his wife to have beaten him there. She'd had a Healer appointment and insisted she go alone. He'd been unhappy about it, but at six months, the pregnancy had meddled with her hormones and made her already-short temper even shorter. He rather liked sleeping in a cozy bed as opposed to the sofa, so he'd let her go. She wasn't there yet, so he sat down to talk with Harry, who confessed he was getting ready to propose to Hermione, and Ron, who was working up the courage to ask Lavender Brown to take him back. Then, the door burst open and Lory stormed in, wearing a furious scowl. She glared at Fred, who'd begun to stand, and stomped up the stairs. The three boys winced when they heard a door slam upstairs.

"I'd best check on her." Fred excused himself and raced off after her.

Molly poked her head into the sitting room and smiled at Harry and Ron's bewildered faces. She joined them and sat in an armchair, flicking her wand at her knitting basket. Needles and a ball of yarn flew towards her, along with her newest project: a baby jumper. Ron and Harry went back to a conversation about their girl troubles, when they heard Lory yell "Get away from me! This is your fault!"

There was a short pause before a thud was heard. Molly's smirked; Lory had thrown something at Fred. They'd later find out that it was Fred's old beater bat. The second thud was George's. For a few moments all was quiet. Harry made to stand, concerned his sister had actually hit Fred with something and killed the poor bloke.

"Just wait, Harry." Molly said, looking up from her knitting.

"I AM NOT NAMING MY CHILDREN AFTER BLOODY CONSTELLATIONS!" Lory screamed.

She soon appeared in the sitting room, her face very red and her scowl more pronounced. She faced her mother-in-law and shared a look with her.

"It's his fault."

"I know, dear. I told Arthur the same thing." Molly nodded sympathetically.

"He wants to name them after constellations." Lory stated.

"Its a common practice among wizards." Fred said from the doorway.

Harry and Ron didn't know how on earth Fred could be so calm. Lory had been scary when she was mad before the pregnancy. Now she was downright mental. Both tried to steer clear of her when she got into a mood, but Fred just smiled and hugged her.

"I'd best get dinner on the table. You can tell us about it in the kitchen. I'm sure Hermione and Ginny would like to hear the names Fred wants." Molly said soothingly, setting aside her knitting once more.

A short while later, the Weasleys were crammed around the dinner table. Not all of the siblings came for dinner each night, but tonight there were quite a few: George, Ron, Harry, Hermione, Ginny, and Percy. Arthur sat at one end of the table, while Molly sat at the other.

"Now, dear, tell us about your appointment." Molly coaxed as everyone tucked in.

"It's twins." Lory said flatly.

"You did have a good chance for that." Harry pointed out. "You're a twin. He's a twin. I'm shutting up now."

Lory glared at her brother. He meekly began to poke at a bit of baked potato. Hermione patted his hand.

"I suggested names. But she didn't like them." Fred put on a woe-be-gone face.

"He wanted to name them after the Gemini twins!" Lory exclaimed. "D'you know what they're called?"

Hermione, Percy, and George snorted with ill-concealed laughter. Arthur chortled outright. Molly just gave an amused smile. Harry and Ron looked confused, while Ginny spoke the question aloud: "What are they called?"

"Castor and Pollux!" Lory cried. "I am not subjecting my children to that."

"Relax, love." Fred squeezed Lory's hand. "It was a joke. We'll come up with better names."

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On February 15th, 1998, Lory Weasley went into labour. After seventeen long hours, five broken fingers, and many promises that Fred would never get lucky again, Lily Georgette and Arthur Harry Weasley were born. As the proud parents held their newborns, Fred kissed Lory's forehead and murmured, "I still think we should've called them Castor and Pollux."


End file.
